Senior Writer
Willis Sparks
Senior Writer
Willis Sparks is a senior editor for GZERO Daily. He is also a Director in the Global Macro practice at Eurasia Group, where he has worked since 2005. He has made speeches on international politics on every continent except Antarctica. Willis holds degrees from Brown University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also holds an honorary degree from the Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of Macon, Georgia, Willis has worked as a stuntman at New York's Metropolitan Opera. As a child, he declined an opportunity to spend an afternoon riding the Great American Scream Machine, a rollercoaster, with Ronald McDonald, for money. He has never regretted that decision.
Sep 07, 2023
Two top Russian generals have been arrested on charges that they signed away military land to civilian owners in exchange for bribes.
Evidently this sort of dirty side hustle has become a trend lately in and around Moscow, and the Kremlin is looking to crack down.
But it’s also worth noting that the two generals were until recently in charge of Moscow’s air defenses. As Ukrainian drones continue to penetrate deep into Russian territory – including a number of reported attacks on Moscow itself – the Kremlin may be making an example of these two for a reason.
After all, corruption is widespread in Putin’s system — but getting busted so publicly is a signal that you’ve fallen out of favor. (Falling out of windows is sometimes the next phase of the downfall, but we’ll put a floor under these metaphors here.)
